"I'll take blowouts any time," said Garnett, who went 4-for-15 from the
field and barely extended his double-digit scoring string to 349 games.

Coach Dwane Casey, respectful of his star's streak, removed Garnett once
he reached a season-low 10 points with a short turnaround midway through
the fourth quarter.

With 13 rebounds, five blocks and five assists, Garnett did his part to
make up for all those bricks. The guards kept proper spacing and got
open on the weak side, and the entire team maintained an aggressive
approach against a vulnerable opponent.

Ray Allen returned for Seattle after missing Thursday night's
game following the birth of his son, but neither he nor the rest of his
teammates really showed up. The Sonics shot a season-low 35.2 percent
from the field and trailed by as many as 28 points with less than eight
minutes left. Allen finished with 14 points.

Seattle barely made it to the arena in time, after waiting at the Denver
airport for 2½ hours Thursday night during snowy weather
only to head back to the team hotel for a 4 a.m. bedtime and morning
flight to Minnesota.

Never mind the travel excuses, though.

"I think that our mental effort wasn't there tonight," Allen said. "We
didn't play with each other. We didn't make the extra plays. We just
were selfish. Regardless of what the coaching staff had us doing,
regardless of what happened defensively, offensively we were just
selfish. We just made the 'me' play all night. That's what's contagious."

Sonics coach Bob Hill beamed before the game about the promise and
progress of rookie center Mouhamed Sene,
a 6-foot-11 native of Senegal who was drafted 10th overall. Sene, who
played last season in Belgium, started for the third time after totaling
only 53 minutes and nine points in Seattle's first 30 games.

Sene logged just eight minutes, all in the first quarter, because he
became sick, but the coach was pleased by what he saw.

"They aren't going to get any better unless they are on the floor," Hill
said.

Blount's limited skills -- he's a 7-footer who relies mostly on
mid-range jump shots -- have been apparent since he arrived in a big
trade with Boston last January, but this was one of his best games in a
Minnesota uniform. He finished 8-for-12 from the field, grabbed nine
rebounds and played decent defense, continuing a recent surge.

"He's in a rhythm," said Timberwolves rookie Craig
Smith, who had 10 points.

Hill sent a small lineup out for the second half, with Nick
Collison instead of Sene, and Johan Petro
-- who had 12 points -- played the majority of the post-halftime minutes
at center.

Losers of eight of their last 10 games, the Sonics showed their
sluggishness. They fell behind 28-18 late in the first quarter and
trailed by double digits most of the rest of the night. Allen, who shot
4-for-16, was well-guarded by Trenton Hassell
and Marko Jaric, and Seattle was
outrebounded 56-38.

"It's the first time this year I think we really gave in," Collison
said. "We gave in to fatigue or gave in to the game just not going our
way. We can't do that."

Though starting point guard Mike James,
whose wife gave birth to a daughter the day before, had another
low-impact performance with five points in 21 minutes, the Wolves had
plenty of perimeter production. Rookie Randy Foye
had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists as Minnesota put together
a rare complete game without melting down in at least one quarter.

Even with a mere six points at the half from Garnett, the Wolves held a
56-39 lead. Passing his way out of constant double teams was important.

"As long as they do that and we can pick 'em apart like that, we'll take
it," Casey said.

Notes

Hill shrugged off the effects of the late night, at least for him.
"I'm not a guy who requires a lot of sleep," he said.

Minnesota's Rashad McCants, out since early-summer
microfracture surgery on his right knee, has been practicing on a
limited basis with the team -- and could be ready to return in a
couple of weeks. But Casey was cautious about putting a timetable on
that, stressing that it will depend on how McCants responds to
increased contact and activity.

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